Transference (The Two Worlds, #2)

by Alisha Howard

  “Agreed.” I stomped my way through the trail out of the forest and began the long walk home. Rena had already gone on without me. I was starting to think Grandpa was right. Going into hiding was becoming more and more appealing.

  Chapter 10

  “I’m not sure what to say.” Rena was staring at me with wide eyes as I replayed what had happened earlier in the day between Erika and me. “What’s her problem?”

  “Not sure, but we’ll need to keep a closer eye on her.” We stood at the bus stop in silence, lost in our thoughts. There was a large rip from behind me, but I didn’t bother to turn to see the source of the sound. I knew. “Hey, sis.”

  “Hey,” she said, breathless. “Heard what happened today.”

  “How?” I whipped around, my eyes narrowed. “Have you been spying on me?”

  “Nooooo,” Nia breathed out, annoyed. “Macalein’s little sister is in your class and she saw the whole thing go down, so she told her brother, who told me. He’s in my class.”

  “Hmph.” I folded my arms. “She was fighting dirty.”

  “She always does.”

  I sighed. “What is it between you two? I feel like I’m fighting a battle that’s not mine.” Nia looked at me with wide, innocent eyes. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Uh-huh.” I zipped up my jacket and stepped back from the curb as the bus squeaked to a stop in front of us. We let the passengers get off and then quickly boarded before the bus glided off again.

  Rena grabbed a window seat, I sat next to her, and Nia plopped down across from us.

  I continued the conversation. “She’s had a grudge against me since I arrived here on Turgor. I think you have more history than you’re letting on.”

  Nia huffed. “Look. I won a bunch of awards before you arrived and the Council is fond of me. Her father is obviously an important man, but he still can’t buy her favor with the Council. So she’s jealous.”

  I narrowed my eyes at her. It didn’t seem like that was enough for Erika to physically attack me, but Nia clearly wasn’t going to reveal the real reason behind their feud was any time soon. She averted her eyes and a little while later pulled on the cord to let the bus know to stop.

  Caldbeck was, as usual, about as warm as an icicle. We hurried up the broken stone path to the side security desk, flashed our badges, and scurried up the walkway to the looming grey doors. Senior member Layane was not fond of us being late. The marble polished floors squeaked as we hurried through the main entrance toward one of the many elevators there.

  Once we landed on our floor, we collectively held our breath as we rushed to Layane’s office. She was waiting, leaned against her desk with her arms folded. Her coral blue robes flowed around her. Her lips formed a thin line as pale eyes followed our movements while we settled in at our desks.

  “Hello.”

  We murmured a response back. I kept my eyes down. No need to antagonize her any further. I had had enough confrontation for one day.

  Layane walked slowly to me. “Kathleena. What a lovely gold ring that is.”

  Pale eyes rested on my right hand before jumping back to my face. “Where did you get it?”

  “It was a gift?”

  “From whom?”

  I swallowed. “Mimi Lafaye.”

  Layane grinned. “Ah, yes. Lafaye. Fascinating creature. Very old.” She studied me for a moment and then pursed her lips. “Now why would she give a young student such an expensive gift?”

  My heartbeat sped up a notch. Layane looked like a cat about to swallow a canary. “I-I’m not sure, Senior Layane.”

  Layane tsked. “It just seems strange. Unless you’re doing something for her that’s unsanctioned?”

  “No, Senior Layane.”

  She studied me for a few long, torturous seconds. I gave a small nervous smile.

  Nia coughed softly and Layane shifted, trance broken. She smiled softly at me. “Well, be sure to think twice before accepting any more gifts, young Awakener. Wouldn’t want anyone getting the wrong idea.”

  I stared at her as she walked back to the front of the room, weaving her hands in front of her. Before I could blink, the room filled with dozens of dusty boxes, all stamped “File Room 32B.”

  Layane whirled around to face us again. “Get to work. I’ll be back in a few hours. I expect to see all of these files sorted, no excuses.” She walked out of the room and closed the door softly.

  Rena and Nia grabbed a couple of boxes and began sorting. I calmed myself before following suit. We worked in silence for half an hour before Rena gave a sharp gasp.

  “What’s wrong?” Nia frowned at her. “Did you rip something?”

  “No!” Rena squinted at the box. “I...we...well, there’s a camera in this box.” We rushed over to her. Sure enough, there was a small red blinking camera with what looked to be a tiny microphone tucked in the corner of the box. I frowned. Why would anyone leave something in a dusty old file box?

  Rena gave a nervous laugh. “Maybe someone dropped it and didn’t realize.”

  “Or maybe they’re spying on us.” I swallowed and caught Nia’s eye before mouthing, “Watch what you say.” She nodded. I cleared my throat. “Let’s just keep working. I’m sure it’s just an accident.” We quickly went through the rest of the boxes and the next batch that appeared before our time was up.

  When we made it back to Dia, Grandpa was sitting on her front steps waiting for us.

  He gave us a small smile before ushering us inside. “We need to move Dia again tonight.”

  “I know,” I groaned. “Let me take a shower first. I can feel the dust in my hair.”

  “No time.” Grandpa began pacing. “For the past few nights, I’ve been followed. And the Senior Council put me on desk duty until further notice.” My head began to throb as Grandpa stopped pacing and met my eyes. “I think they’re onto me. To us.”

  “That would explain the camera and microphone,” I muttered. I filled Grandpa in on what had gone down in our detention. His eyebrows drew closer together when I got to the part about Layane.

  “Yes, definitely onto us.” He sighed. “I think it’s time we all went underground.”

  “No way.” Nia crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t think this is the right move.”

  “How can you say that?” Rena asked. “The Council is making it pretty apparent that they’re onto us.”

  “I just think that we should stay and hold,” Nia said. “If we continue business as usual, maybe they’ll see that we’re not a real threat. And eventually leave us alone.”

  “I think you’re being delusional, sis,” I said, cutting in. “The Council isn’t trustworthy. They sent Senior Lynch after us!”

  “Well, that may be so, but I’m not going.”

  “And we can’t go without you—it’ll make you a target.” Rena turned to Grandpa. “What are we going to do?”

  Grandpa stroked his mustache for a few minutes. “Let’s wait a little while longer and see how this plays out. Give Nia’s idea a chance. But I will be keeping an eye on you girls.”

  I sucked my teeth but kept my mouth closed. After he had said good night and left, I turned to Nia.

  “You’re being dumb about this.”

  “Whatever.” She shrugged on her coat. “You don’t understand.”

  “No, you don’t understand. Your career with the Council has already been tainted by your involvement at Nipsin’s. When are you going to wake up?”

  “When are you going to wake up, Kay? Not everything has to be a fight!”

  “But this does!”

  Nia took a deep breath. “Look. I’m not going to argue with you. I’ve made my decision. If you don’t like it, oh well.” She opened up a rip in space and paused. “It doesn’t have to be us versus them, Kay. Remember that.” She stepped into her portal, the rip closing behind her.

  I sighed and lay down on the couch, allowing sleep to claim me.

  Chapter 11

  The next da
y Grandma called me into the living room. I found her sitting on the couch with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and an old photo album in her lap. She smiled and patted for me to sit down.

  “What’s up?” I plopped down next to her and pulled my knees up to my chest.

  “Look at what I found.” She handed me a yellowed picture of me smiling while sitting on Grandpa’s lap. From the huge gap in my front teeth, I guessed I was about eight years old. “You were so cute.”

  “Yeah. Grandpa looks so happy.”

  Grandma nodded and turned the page. “That he was.” We flipped through the album in comfortable silence, smiling at the happy faces frozen in time that stared back at us. “I wish he were here,” she said.

  I swallowed over the lump that instantly formed in my throat. Grandma deserved to know the truth about Grandpa. He was the love of her life and had been gone far too long. A shard of anger pierced through me. One would think that Grandpa would find someone to let Grandma know that he was all right. During the time that I had been on Turgor with him, he hadn’t ever asked about her or her wellbeing. Did he miss her just as much as she missed him? I studied her wrinkled face, watching as her eyes moistened a bit more with every turn of the page.

  I took a deep breath. “Grandma, I have something to tell you.”

  She glanced over at me. “What?”

  I looked down at my knees. “Grandpa—”

  “What are y’all up to?” Nia said, barging into the room, swinging her backpack down on the small love seat opposite us. She had been over a friend’s house studying and practicing the latest cheer routines. “Oooh! Are we looking through the old albums?”

  Grandma nodded. “Just going down memory lane.” She turned her attention back to me. “What did you want to tell me?”

  Nia raised a curious eyebrow and I laughed nervously. “Nothing. I was just telling you that I missed Grandpa too. I wish he were here.”

  She sighed softly and closed the album. “I think I’m going to go upstairs and take a nap. This weather is making me sleepy. You girls behave. There’s pot roast in the fridge if you get hungry.”

  We both watched her hunched frame ascend up the stairs.

  Nia cleared her throat. “Hey.”

  “Hey.”

  “Look, I’m sorry for yesterday. I didn’t mean to be so stubborn.”

  “But you are,” Nia replied. We both laughed.

  “I understand where you’re coming from, Nia. Honestly. I just wish you would be a bit more open-minded.”

  “I know.”

  “I don’t like this any more than you do. I didn’t ask for this.”

  “I know.”

  “You always were a know-it-all.” We laughed again.

  “Look, we might not agree on the next steps, but I don’t want us fighting. We’ve got enough to deal with.” Nia offered her pinky finger. “Truce?”

  I hooked my pinky around hers. “Truce.”

  “Well, in the spirit of tender moments, here’s something I found under some boxes in my closet. Grandpa must have wrote it when he was awake here on Earth.” It was a dusty-bound book that read, “Giza Graveyard” in pale gold lettering.

  “Thanks! Just what I needed to get to sleep. Some heavy reading.”

  Nia snorted and stood up. “I’ve got to study for my chemistry test. See you later.”

  I waved absently at her before cracking open the book to the first page.

  The history of Giza Graveyard Back when Turgor was new, the original council consisted of only two powerful beings: The Original Awakener and the Original Creator. Together, they moved seamlessly throughout the planet creating and awakening new life. It is said that their combined power along with the power of the cosmos allowed them to create some of the very old portals through which new inhabitants used to find their way to Turgor today. As they worked, they noticed that the inhabitants were living forever, and new life was not being able to flourish under the old. So they went into meditation to seek an answer to their problems. They could not ruthlessly kill the inhabitants in cold blood for the sake of balance, but they could also not pretend that the problem did not exist. For eight-two days and eighty-two nights, they meditated in the dark recesses of the Western quadrant of the planet, away from prying eyes. And on the eighty-third night, they came to a conclusion. They could not, in good conscience, kill themselves. But they could create and awaken someone who could. And this is how the Original Death Walker came to be. His purpose was to help maintain the balance of life and death. The Original Awakener granted him dominion over death entirely—he could give it, take it away, or forestall it. For a century, he roamed Turgor, fulfilling his purpose. But he grew lonely. All inhabitants feared him.

  The Original Awakener and Creator wanted nothing to do with him—his purpose was grim and unpleasant. He went to them and asked for a companion. They declined. “A companion could also help me restore the balance,” he pleaded. “You have the power to end my loneliness.”

  “We already have to put up with the nature of your existence, brother,” they answered. “We do not have to condone creating more in your image.”

  “But what of my loneliness?”

  “It is not our burden to bear.”

  Discouraged, the Death Walker fell into despair. Soon, those whose time had ended did not meet their grim fate. The Original Death Walker ceased to perform his duties and went into hiding. The Original Awakener and Creator searched for him high and low to no avail. During his hiding, the Death Walker flexed his powers on various creatures of the night—taking life away and giving it back again. It was then that he realized he could create his own race without the help of his siblings. And so, he returned to work. The first round of inhabitants that he took included two women and two men. “You have a chance at a new life,” he told them before they died. “You can either end your life today or join me as one of my own. You will have a new purpose but also a new life.” All readily agreed, and he killed them before bringing them back to life again. He noticed that they took on some of his physical characteristics but none of his powers. Troubled, he sought out a powerful witch who lived in the enchanted forest alone.

  “I am lonely and wish to have brethren. Help me imbue my children with powers and I will grant you immortality.” The witch feared the Death Walker and so agreed. After a fortnight, she came back to him with a potion to drink that would not only give him the power to bring forth powers in his children, but also his children’s children and so forth. The Death Walker was very happy. He trained his children and encouraged them to multiply, to create families of their own. Noting that they were shunned by the general population of inhabitants, he created the Giza Graveyard, where the Walkers could now live in peace and harmony. To this day, this is where all Death Walkers reside.

  I put the book down and sighed. Poor Kris. It seemed his whole lineage was one big sad story. I stifled a yawn and looked at my watch. It was only five o’clock, but I was beat. Somehow I was even too tired to grab a plate of leftovers from the kitchen! Maybe a nap will help, I thought, stretching my stiff limbs. I eventually trudged upstairs and tossed the book on my dresser before flopping down in the bed, allowing sleep to instantly claim me. And I could have sworn that I heard someone whisper my name before I was traveling once again.

  Chapter 12

  January 15- 10:00 p.m. Earth Time, 11:00 a.m. Turgor Time, Meeting with Senior Awakener Rowena Holst, Giza Graveyard Classified Assignment

  I blinked and reread my DiGi for the third time, ignoring my breakfast sitting in front of me. Why was I being summoned outside of my regular school hours? And without Rena? My heart thumped as I weighed my options. I could ignore this summoning and risk exposing myself to even more suspicion, or I could meet up with Rowena and find out what she wanted. Maybe she just wanted to chat about expanding my powers, I thought to myself. Yeah, right.

  I shoved the last piece of buttered bread into my mouth, guzzled down my lukewarm tea, and shot a quick not
e off to the gang before heading out the door. I had about twenty minutes to meet Rowena, so I needed to grab the next bus pronto.

  I hadn’t been to Giza Graveyard since we’d kicked Senior Lynch’s butt a few months prior. The iron gate guarding the entrance had been repaired but still somehow managed to look centuries old. Thick fog swirled around my feet as I walked in the gate and towards a shadowy figure standing near a crumpled tombstone. I thought of Erica bragging about destroying the tombs and forced myself to swallow down my anger. Kris and the rest of the Death Walkers didn’t deserve this. One problem at a time.

  The fog cleared a bit around the figure to reveal Rowena standing in her usual outfit of plain dark blue linen pants and a pale blue blouse. She gave me a friendly wave. “Sorry to request you so suddenly,” she chirped. “But I just received the orders myself.”

  “From the Senior Council?” I asked, even though I knew the answer.

  Rowena nodded. “They’re eager to continue your education.”

  I looked around. “But what about Rena? She’s my partner.”

  “Yes, but they believe your power is greater than hers. And they’re also worried that your loyalty to Rena is a bit of a distraction.”

  I frowned at her choice of words. Since when was being friends with someone a hindrance? Before I could question even more, she pulled out her DiGi and tapped it a few times. I waited as she read her orders again and then collapsed her DiGi back into her pocket.

  “Okay! Your assignment today should be a simple one. I want you to Awaken three Death Walkers.”

  I stared at her. The cool wind danced along my face, rustling loose leaves along the way. My chest tightened. “You want me to what?”

  Rowena frowned. “Do the same thing you did with Larius. Shouldn’t be too hard.”

  “I didn’t do that by myself.” I sighed, tired and frustrated. “I had Rena there as well. We combined our skills. And that was just for one Walker!”